Chapter 9 Cole
NINE
COLE
"Shopping," I repeat dryly, forcing myself to take my gaze off Sophie.
"Yes. She needs something to wear, and we have to pick out a new hair color," Jules explains as I look at her.
Even though I know I don’t stand a chance of getting out of this, I still try to dodge her plan, motioning to Sophie. "But she does have something to wear."
Jules rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "Quit acting like some caveman and take us. It’ll be fun!"
I shake my head decisively. "She can’t go out. Someone might recognize her."
Jules tsks impatiently and waves me off. "She can wear a beanie."
"It’s still summer."
"So what?"
It’s pointless. I lose the staring contest against her. As usual. It’s impossible for me to deny Jules a wish, especially when she looks at me with those puppy eyes of hers. Still, I try one last time to get out of this.
"She can’t stay here. How’s that supposed to work, huh?" While speaking, I go to the couch and sit down to light a cigarette. As I do so, I avoid looking at Sophie. I can’t bear to see tears in her eyes again. The ones I saw there earlier were enough for me, which really pisses me off, by the way.
Jules follows me and literally puffs herself up in front of me. "What are you going to do? Just kick her out?" The words are only a quiet hiss so Sophie won’t hear them, but I don’t miss how serious Jules is.
Instead of answering, I just shrug and take another drag from my cigarette.
"Are you serious?" She looks at me with a mix of bewilderment and anger. "You really can’t pull that off, Cole. And you know that. So stop being such a dickhead and help me help her."
Sighing, I let my head fall back and close my eyes.
As much as I love Jules, at this moment I’d like to rip her head off. She knows exactly why I don’t want to have any-fucking-one around me anymore. I’m not the right one to take a girl by the hand who has been stranded in this world. Yet she forces me to do it.
Opening my eyes again, I sit up straight to take one last drag from my cigarette. Then I stub it out and stand, forcing Jules to step back. When I look at Sophie, I immediately regret it. She’s slumped in the chair, looking like a heap of misery.
"Fuck… What am I doing here anyway?" I mutter to myself before raising my voice. "All right. You can stay. At least for now."
Jules claps her hands in excitement while I suppress an eye roll.
"Until you know what you want to do and where you want to go. Got it?"
Sophie simply nods.
"But I’ll tell you right now: If the fucking cops show up here, I’m out."
Jules jumps with joy. "Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t mean it," she says lightly as she bounces around wildly, but neither Sophie nor I pay her any attention.
"Okay," Sophie returns softly, not backing down from my glare.
We stare at each other for a while until I turn away, shaking my head. "That’s the second dumbest thing I’ve ever done."
Sophie’s soft voice makes me pause. "What was the first dumbest?"
I can feel her gaze on the back of my neck but don’t turn around as I answer. "You don’t want to know."
"Yes, I do." She almost sounds challenging, and I close my eyes for a second. Where’s Jules’s big mouth when I really need it?
Slowly, I turn around and lock eyes with Sophie. She looks at me with her chin lifted, and I don’t know whether I’m angry or surprised.
"You need something to wear." I change the subject. "So come on. We’re going shopping."
How could I have let myself be talked into this?
Even during the drive, I’m on the verge of throwing Jules out of my truck because she’s in such a disgustingly good mood and shows and explains all sorts of things to Sophie.
She’s already making crazy plans when Sophie tells her all the things she hasn’t done and experienced yet. And that seems to be quite a lot.
How can a mother do that to her child and cut them off from the outside world? Either she had a really valid reason for it, or she’s just sick. It’s probably a mix of both.
I can’t stop my gaze from gliding to the rearview mirror repeatedly as I drive. Sophie sits up straight behind Jules, looking out the window with huge eyes. Here and there, she asks what we’re driving past, but most of the time, she just seems to soak up the impressions like a sponge.
When we reach the Walmart Supercenter, her eyes get even bigger.
"It’s nothing special," Jules says with a shrug after we get out. "But you can get everything you need here."
"Everything?" Sophie looks up at the one-story, yet imposing, building in amazement.
"Well… not everything everything, but quite a lot," Jules corrects herself before taking Sophie’s hand.
"Go without me. I’m going to wait here." I try to pull my head out of the noose because a shopping marathon with Jules is the last thing I need right now. I went through that once and still haven’t fully recovered from it. And that was years ago.
"No way." Jules grabs my wrist with her other hand. "You’re coming with us. We need your mental support. And your wallet."
Goddamn… I won’t survive this.
Mental support my ass. I’m the damn pack mule while Jules drags Sophie from one aisle to the next, showing her absolutely everything. I don’t even want to know what’s hanging over my forearms and on the hangers dangling from my fingers, but it’s clear Jules is escalating.
Sophie was reserved at first, but with each passing minute, she became more and more relaxed, until she even dared to express her own wishes.
She sniffed every single soap bar until she decided on one.
She’s also getting bolder with her clothes and purposefully chooses a few pieces, but has Jules sign off on all of them.
The latter is so in her element that I call her to me after what feels like hours because I’m afraid that we won’t get out of here before closing time otherwise.
"Are you guys going to be done soon? I still need to go to the vet clinic."
"Yes. We just need to pick out a hair dye," Jules replies and hurries away to drag Sophie to the hair care products, looking over her shoulder at me. "You stay here! I want the color to be a surprise."
Seriously?
"You have five minutes. If you’re not back by then, I’ll drop everything and leave."
"I love you too, Cole," she croons before they disappear between the shelves.
When we finally reach the checkout and I’ve unloaded everything onto the conveyor belt, Jules holds out a hand and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. While doing so, she hides the hair dye behind her back as if it were a state secret.
"What?"
"Your wallet," she demands. "Give it to me."
I just look at her in silence while the corners of Sophie’s mouth twitch.
"You’re not supposed to see the color," Jules explains again when I don’t budge. Then she brazenly reaches around my body to pull my wallet out of my back pocket. "Now get lost."
Sophie turns away to hide her grin when I shoot her a glance. The two of them have conspired against me, with Jules clearly being the driving force. That’s just what I need.
"I can’t fucking believe this." Grumbling, I turn around and leave.
I don’t mind Jules spending my money. It was always me paying for everything, anyway.
But the fact that she still can wrap me round her little finger after all these years pisses me off a little.
But what can I do? She’s my little Jules.
I just can’t say no to her and would do anything for her, even if it makes me look like a damn fool.
So I go outside and wait for them by the truck as if I were their fucking chauffeur.
Ten minutes later, they exit the store with bulging bags.
They’re laughing and look like normal young women who just had the time of their lives while shopping.
Their cheeks are rosy, their eyes sparkle, and their laughter echoes halfway across the big parking lot.
For just a moment, I forget that neither Jules nor Sophie had a life that one would call normal.
It’s then I realize I can’t just send Sophie away.
No matter what fate or God or whatever else there might be had thought, Sophie climbed into my truck.
I will never forget the expression in her eyes while she did so.
She looked so lost and alone that it almost tore me apart, and I decide then and there that I never want to see her like that ever again.